Union Communication, 2009
Eli
July 11, 2025
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This is not a gag cartoon, it’s another spot cartoon drawing for Union Communication Services.
This is not a gag cartoon, it’s another spot cartoon drawing for Union Communication Services.
“On second thought, hold the coffee.”
(by Rich Wolf)
My original caption: “Miss Wilson, how do I get my pager out of the ‘vibrate’ mode?”
Congratulations, Captioneer Rich Wolf, for winning the Caption Contest once more. This is actually your eighteenth victory — your last win was back in 2023, in Contest No. 206. You can definitely spread the word again that you are truly one of the funniest people around.
Here are the other submitted captions that were were seriously being considered for top honors:
“Misss Uptonnn, don’t let that phone guy llleave the buildinggg!” (by Brendan F Gannon)
“MMMiiisssss. JJJoooonnneeeesss . . . . . HHHHHeeeelllpppp.” (by Harvey Appelbaum)
“Tell IT I can’t turn off ‘vibrate’ mode — not my phone, me!” (by Joe Ayella)
“Sit, shake. They treat me like a dog.” (by Mark S)
“Helen, I need you to hold my calls. And me.” (by Rory Steen)
“Call my wife. I mixed up our medications again.” (by Silvana Lagrotteria)
“Miss Payne . . . is this electric vibrating foot massager you gave me at Christmas supposed to make my teeth rattle?” (by Lee Lacewell)
“Now I finally understand the song by Elvis — we’re gonna shake, rattle and roll.” (by Diane Weisman)
“Quick! What’s today’s buzzword?” (by Pat Foley)
I also want to congratulate Captioneer Mark Schaefer for capturing the top prize in the current Caption Contest conducted by Cartoon Stock. That’s the way to go, Mark S.!
My Contest No. 228 will be posted in due course, so be on the lookout for it, Captioneers. Thanks for participating!
Contest No. 227 starts right now.
Here are the details: I’ll supply a drawing of one of my old cartoons that has never been published, leaving off my caption. You are invited to supply your funniest captions. To enter, simply (1) click on “See Comments and Add Your Own”. Then (2) scroll down past any other submitted captions and type your name and your caption in the spaces provided. Then (3) click “Save”. There is no charge to submit captions, and the only prize is the honor of being one of the funniest people around.
Your caption (or captions) will be posted after I review your submission. However, no captions at all will be posted for the first few days of each contest. This will give everybody a chance to submit their spontaneous, gut-instinct caption without fear of discovering that it was ripped off by somebody else’s similar spontaneous, gut-instinct caption. Every posted caption has an indication of the date and time it was received. This is an equal opportunity contest!
There is no limit on the number of captions you may enter, but I will only post and consider the first 15 captions from any contestant. Entries will be accepted and posted for one week, after which the winning caption will be announced and printed and I will also reveal my original caption. I am the sole judge and the winning caption will be the one I deem to be the funniest one submitted (not necessarily the one that matches or comes closest to my original caption).
The cut-off time and date for you to send in your captions is midnight Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Below is the drawing that needs your funny captions. Good luck, Captioneers!
Many years ago I discovered a cartoon market called Union Communication Services, Inc., a company that offered a graphics packet to U.S. labor unions. The packet consisted of pro-labor gag cartoons and various other clip artwork that union editors could subscribe to and use in their newsletters, leaflets, magazines and newspapers.
(Aside: My father and mother, both immigrant garment workers, were proud members of the I.L.G.W.U. Anyone who lived in New York City in the 1930’s and 1940’s knew what those letters stood for – – the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. If one wanted to work in the garment industry in those days, it had better be in a union shop. So I guess you could say that I was definitely raised in a pro-union atmosphere.)
I easily sold a slew of union-oriented gag cartoons to Union Communication, and you can see them by linking to “Union Communication” under “Publications” in my sidebar. The editor I worked with soon asked me if I was interested in also doing some “spots” for the graphic packet. These spots consisted of a cartoon drawing with an educational or an informational message, such as on-the-job safety reminders, recruiting new members, supporting union causes, consulting with the union stewards, and so forth. The editor would pay the same rate I was getting for the gag cartoons, and he would supply me with the topics he wanted me to cover. So I started doing the spots, and he again bought a slew of them, along with my regular gag cartoons.
In the interest of making my “archive” as complete as possible, I now intend to post all of these spots. Please don’t be confused when you don’t get the humor – – it’s an educational message, not a gag cartoon.
Here’s the first union “spot”, with many more postings to follow.
“Good thing his t-shirt doesn’t say ‘Save the Shrimps!”
(by Joe Ayella)
My original caption: “For you, Lori — it’s the one who collects whales!”
Congratulations on this, your third victory, Joe Ayella! As a long-time shrimp lover I greatly appreciated the sentiment expressed in your caption (shrimp is my favorite meal at my local Thai restaurant). So once again you have earned the bragging rights — you are indeed one of the funniest people around.
These are the other captions that were seriously in competition:
“Honey, he is here to pick up the whale in our pool!” (by Jasmine Valentino)
“Honey, on second thought, cancel the fish fry!” ( by Rich Wolf)
“Susie, your new boyfriend is here and I’m going to call this one Ishmael!” (by Marc Eliot Stein)
“Relax, he only wants his Save The Earth T-shirt.” (by Pat Foley)
“You better sit down Sweetie. The young man at the door wants to save the whales by putting them in an aquarium.” (by Silvana Lagrotteria)
“Marge . . . don’t you think adopting a whale is something we should have discussed first?” (by Lee Lacewell)
Cartoon Caption Contest No. 227 will be posted in due time, Captioneers, so please keep a sharp lookout for it. Many thanks for participating!
Contest No. 226 starts right now.
Here are the details: I’ll supply a drawing of one of my old cartoons that has never been published, leaving off my caption. You are invited to supply your funniest captions. To enter, simply (1) click on “See Comments and Add Your Own”. Then (2) scroll down past any other submitted captions and type your name and your caption in the spaces provided. Then (3) click “Save”. There is no charge to submit captions, and the only prize is the honor of being one of the funniest people around.
Your caption (or captions) will be posted after I review your submission. However, no captions at all will be posted for the first few days of each contest. This will give everybody a chance to submit their spontaneous, gut-instinct caption without fear of discovering that it was ripped off by somebody else’s similar spontaneous, gut-instinct caption. Every posted caption has an indication of the date and time it was received. This is an equal opportunity contest!
There is no limit on the number of captions you may enter, but I will only post and consider the first 15 captions from any contestant. Entries will be accepted and posted for one week, after which the winning caption will be announced and printed and I will also reveal my original caption. I am the sole judge and the winning caption will be the one I deem to be the funniest one submitted (not necessarily the one that matches or comes closest to my original caption).
The cut-off time and date for you to send in your captions is midnight Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
Below is the drawing that needs your funny captions. Good luck, Captioneers!
Once again, many thanks to Captioneer Mark Schaeffer for finding this published cartoon from 1978, so that I can now add it to my archive.
“I need to see your SMART ID license to let you in.”
(by Michael Lomazow)
My original caption: “Innovative or non-innovative cuisine?”
Congratulations on this, your seventh victory, Michael Lomazow. Your last win wasn’t that long ago, in Contest No. 222. The boasting rights are all yours — you are once again one of the funniest people around.
Here are the other caption entries that I was seriously considering for top honors:
“Shoes on or shoes off?” (by Joe Ayella)
“You’re a bit late for the ‘early bird specials’ but your timing is perfect for our ‘menus without prices’.” (by Lee Lacewell)
“A table by the window? You’re in luck, there’s a McDonald’s two miles south of here.” (by Pat Foley)
“I reserve the right to unreserve your reservation.” (by Diane Weisman)
“You said you don’t mind waiting . . . so go take the drink orders for table 10!” (also by Lee Lacewell)
“Your reservation’s in the book, but I still need the secret password.” (also by Joe Ayella)
“Vaping or no vaping?” (by Jasmin V)
A new Contest will be posted in due time, Captioneers, so watch for it, and thanks for your participation!
If you would like to reprint any cartoon found on this site, please contact me at elilast@verizon.net. Reproduction or publication for commercial purposes of any of the cartoons on this site without prior permission is strictly prohibited.
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